CRYPTOLINK: Hominids in thailand

Any self-respecting country laying claim to ‘wilderness areas’ has to have them! Reports of large ape-like creatures emanate from remote mountain and forest areas of every continent bar Antarctica: the Sasquatch or Bigfoot of Canada and the United States, the yetis of Siberia, yowies of Australia and abominable snowmen of Tibet — and Southeast Asia, with its stretches of dense and often little-known jungle, is not immune.

What lies beneath?

(This post actually comes with a soundtrack, so at this point you may wish to click this link.)
Malaysia in particular has persistent reports of creatures at home in Endau Rompin national park, or check out this report from Setapak forest. Laos and Vietnam have sightings of ‘hairy wild-men’ from the Truong Son mountains along the remote border area (see here) and Cambodia, the Kulen yeti.
With an estimated 15% forest cover, Thailand is not traditionally a yeti hotspot, but we uncovered similar legends on a visit to Nan province’s Mae Charim national park. Mae Charim lies in a mountainous region of eastern Nan, backing onto the Lao border, and contains extensive forest area and very few inhabitants.

Rom Khlao Village

In fact part of eastern Nan is even known as the ‘empty quarter’ and in Mae Charim there is just one village: the Hmong settlement of Rom Klao. We began our trip in Rom Klao where we met up with our old friend, former communist guerrilla, ex-hunter and now local guide Pha.

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